1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a microchannel structure and a manufacturing method therefor, a light source device, and a projector.
2. Related Art
A microchannel structure is a structure including microchannels having a width of several micrometers to several hundred micrometers and is used for various applications. For example, the microchannel structure is used as a heat exchange component realizing high cooling performance by feeding a cooling medium (fluid) through the microchannels or used as a carrying path for fluid with a low flow rate.
For example, in the case of a heat exchanger that is a structure including plural channels with a width of several millimeters to several centimeters, as described in JP-UM-A-61-84389, it is possible to manufacture the heat exchanger at low cost and in a large quantity by housing and arranging a corrugate board member, which is formed by pressing, in a housing section of an outer peripheral wall member.
However, microprocessing is difficult in the pressing. Moreover, it is difficult to form channels with a high aspect ratio (a ratio of a channel width and a channel height). Thus, in forming plural channels with a width of several micrometers to several hundred micrometers, in general, the channels are formed by etching silicon or applying wire electric discharge machining to metal.
JP-A-2004-295718 discloses a heat exchanger in which channels are formed by arranging pipes.
However, it is disadvantageous to form channels using silicon in terms of thermal conductivity compared with a case in which channels are formed using metal such as copper. Thus, it is difficult to use the microchannel structure as the heat exchange component having high cooling performance.
On the other hand, in forming channels with a width of several micrometers to several hundred micrometers using metal such as copper, it is possible to form the channels by using machining such as the wire electric discharge machining. However, long machining time is required to form channels according to the wire electric discharge machining. Thus, the wire electric discharge machining is not preferable as machining for manufacturing a large quantity of microchannel structures at low cost.
It is possible to easily form channels by arranging pipes as disclosed in JP-A-2004-295718. However, when a channel width is several micrometers to several hundred micrometers as in the microchannel structure, since a flow rate of fluid flowing through the pipes is extremely low, heat exchange efficiency significantly falls.